KARACHI: Where to go picnicking this weekend? While people of other cities head for parks and hilly locations for their outings, Karachi has the option of Sandspit, Hawkesbay, Paradise Point, French and the Clifton and Defence beaches as popular picnic spots, too.

But, sadly, of these only a few have been developed and those, too, to an extent. Most huts bordering the Sandspit and Hawkesbay beaches are in very bad condition with cracks in walls and pillars and peeled off paint.

The person renting them out for the day or afternoon happens to be the guard who besides taking his salary for guarding various huts also rents them out to picnickers and pockets the amount (between Rs400 and Rs600) that he gathers this way.

Recently, people have also got the option of renting tents for the day at the beach. Tahir Hussain, one picnicker at Hawkesbay, thought that the tents were better than the huts. “I only paid Rs700 for the day for this one,” he says gesturing to the red-and-white tent his family was resting in.

“It feels safer than the crumbling structures and since it is open at the back the wind just passes through without blowing up the whole thing,” he explains.

There are a few similar tents at Paradise Point, too, and the people there said they had paid Rs1,000 to rent them for the day.

“We don’t mind paying more as there are no huts here in the first place. Still there is a shortage of public toilets at the beach. They should build proper bathrooms for men and women. Otherwise people just go behind any rock to answer nature’s call,” says Farheen Shah.

Paradise Point can be a bit of a challenge now due to the nuclear facilities construction work under way there. Some Rangers personnel are nice enough to let you pass, others have a problem. Some allow you to take pictures and others don’t. But what good is a family outing without memorable photographs?

Dune buggies, camel rides, food stalls ... the Clifton and Defence beaches have it all.

Because of its rocky nature, Paradise Point is also a dangerous beach.

“There have been several drowning incidents when divers or swimmers hit their heads on the rocks. Then when they go missing under water it gets almost impossible to find them as they are pulled into the cave-like pockets in the rocks,” says KMC lifeguard Mohammad Ismail.

Due to this, the KMC had stationed three of their lifeguards at the spot. There was also an Aman-Pal lifeguard looking out for the safety of the picnickers there.

The Clifton and Defence beaches don’t have huts but can be seen as better-developed as they have plenty of parks and eating places surrounding them. Then there are also rides, including camel, horse and dune buggy, to keep the young amused.

“I’m a Chinese cook basically but started my dune buggy rides business recently. And I am making more than Rs30,000 a month this way now,” said Zaheer Khaksaar, who charges Rs100 for a drive on the Sea View beach. “I make around Rs800 to Rs1,000 a day,” he says.

Lifeguards have to be extra vigilant at Paradise Point.

The camel and horse rides also cost the same and every kid at the beach wants to ride them. Asked why there aren’t that many camels, horses and buggy rides at Sandspit and Hawkesbay, one camel man says, “Well, they are very far away and it is an effort reaching there. We live close to the city now and Clifton and Defence lie closer.”

The dune buggy man agrees with him. “I am not going to blow up all that petrol to go to the faraway beaches to do the same kind of business. Besides, there are more people at Sea View than Sandspit and Hawkesbay combined any day,” he reasons.

For food, never mind if you didn’t pack a picnic basket. The Defence beach along with a choice of vendors has cabin-like shacks that the DHA rents out on contract. Then there are a number of vendors selling all kinds of snacks at Clifton, too.

But the ideal location and huge crowds have also added to pollution on the Clifton and Defence beaches. Schools and NGOs organise several cleanliness drives here but the rubbish piles up again. Also there is no peace for the loner, who may just want to walk along the ebbing tides and stop for a moment here or there to pick up a seashell or two.

Years ago the Russian employees of Pakistan Steel Mills created the oval-shaped Russian Beach near Port Qasim, which may be ideal for the loners. But again, it is a long drive from the city.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2014